


No More Pain

by cress26



Category: The Blacklist (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Missing scene 6x14, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 05:46:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19784482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cress26/pseuds/cress26
Summary: When Red is attacked by Aram, it takes an act of love and concern from Liz to show Red that she truly loves him.





	No More Pain

The blow across Red’s cheek still stung as much for its humiliation as its force.  


Aram had dashed away in anger, the rest of the task force stood in awkward silence; they couldn't quite believe what had just happened.

Holding his head high, Red turned away from them and walked from the warehouse with as much dignity and pride as he could muster under the circumstances, hoping the despair in his steps wouldn’t give him away. 

Dembe followed him out, a few steps behind, searching for the car key in his jacket. 

It was only outside, in the safety of darkness, that Red let out the anguish in his soul in one exasperated breath. He raised his hand to examine his injured face, when he heard hurried steps behind him and her harsh voice cutting through the night.

“Reddington!”

He flinched and then cringed inwardly at her use of his last name. Would she ever stop doing that? 

He tried to ignore what she'd said and kept walking. He wanted to get away quickly, preferably to the nearest safe house to have a strong drink and to lick his wounds. Aram’s situation hit too close to home and he felt just as miserable. 

The last thing he wanted to deal with was her blame him; he was so tired of her constant accusations and drama.

“Reddington, wait!” She was still in pursuit. 

“Not now, Elizabeth.”

He stressed her full name purposefully and coldly in return as well, hoping it’d hurt her as much as it hurt him. 

He marched along toward the rear door of his black Mercedes, but she wasn’t easy to shake off.

She caught up with him fast, trying to bar his way before he could reach the car.

“Please wait.”

She grabbed his arm and he whirled around to confront her. 

He looked up into her face searching for the anger he had expected to see, but there was no anger only genuine concern in her face, melting his displeasure away.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Liz’s blue eyes studied him closely.

“That was quite a blow he dealt you. Are you hurt?”

He looked away from her intensive scrutiny, his face starting to bruise, and he didn't know how long he could hide that from her. 

“It’s nothing, Elizabeth. I’m fine.”

He didn't want her sympathy, nor her pity.

“I’ve had worse.”

She didn’t allow herself to be brushed off this easily however, so she carefully took his face into her hands and turned him towards the streetlight above them to take a closer look. 

Her touch clearly surprised him, though he didn't pull away. Her hand felt warm and soft against his cheek and it was all he could do not to press himself further into her palm. 

Her brow furrowed in distress at the swelling she discovered in the dim neon light.

“This doesn’t look like nothing, Red,” she whispered. Worry laced her voice and lined her face. “Let me help you.”

Deep down, he cursed his vulnerability and his weakness to her unexpected nearness, shocked by the strength of his need for her. 

After all, she was responsible for the pain in his heart and suddenly he tore away from her as if he couldn't bear for her to touch him any longer.

“I don't need your help, Elizabeth.”

The unusual venom in his voice surprised her, yet she stood her ground. They had been through this so many times before. Would he ever understand that she cared? 

“Dembe? Please drives us to my apartment. It’s the closest location to treat him.”

Dembe nodded at her instruction without checking back with Red. 

Red watched Liz and Dembe get in the car and he had no other choice but follow; the two seemed to have teamed up against him.

“This is unnecessary and a waste of time,” he expressed his displeasure, but his words fell on deaf ears. 

The ride was short, but uncomfortably silent. Pouting and unhappy, Red stared out the car’s side window at the passing scenery, with his hands folded in his lap, ignoring his two companions. 

When they arrived at Liz’s place, Dembe parked the car to the curb side of the parking lot so it wouldn’t draw attention.

Liz opened the door then turned to Red where he sat without moving.

“Are you coming in with me or are you going to sit in the car and sulk like a little child?” Liz mocked softly.

“If I have a choice, I’ll stay in the car,” he declared stubbornly. 

“Red.” The sigh in her voice held indulgent patience in its gentle tone. “I keep ice in the freezer for exactly these kinds of incidents. Agnes gets bumped and bruised all the time.”

It was difficult to watch the look in Liz’s eyes at the mention of her daughter’s name. He knew she missed her little girl, and his guilty feeling about it was enough to make him exit the car. 

He followed her inside the building, then waited while she opened the door to her apartment. 

"May I use your bathroom, please?" he asked her once they had stepped inside. 

“Of course, you may,” she answered. 

“You don’t have to ask,” she added as he quickly brushed past her and entered the bathroom, leaving the door open. 

He wanted to have a closer look at himself to survey the extent of his injury. 

He turned the bathroom lights on and looked in the mirror above the sink.

A bruise had bloomed along his left jaw and cheekbone, leaving the skin slightly red and swollen and tender to the touch, but other than that he was fine. 

He stared at his image a while longer. He was pale and evidently looked as tired as he felt.

He turned the cold water faucet and washed his hands, then rinsed his mouth, contemplating the crimson colored fluid he spat into the sink. 

“You’re bleeding.” Liz said in an alarming tone. He hadn’t noticed her coming after him. 

She handed him a clean towel, then watched him move his tongue in a circular motion against the inside of the cheek before he dried his lips.

“I must have bitten myself at the impact.”

She sighed and the apprehension in her eyes grew and touched him more than he wished. Her considerate care was puzzling, and he didn’t know how to handle his intense emotions. 

“It’s just a small wound, I’m fine,” he tried to put her mind to rest but she didn’t believe him one bit. His expression was hard, unreadable, but she knew he was hurting. 

“Come to the living room, I’ll get the ice ready,” she offered kindly and he nodded. 

Liz went into the kitchen and dug in the back of the freezer for a tray of ice. She emptied the cubes into a dishtowel which she folded into a makeshift ice pack.  
She dropped two more ice cubes into a glass and poured him two fingers of his favorite Scotch. 

In the meantime, Red had sat down on the couch in the living room he once had bought for her. He remembered how comfortable it had felt and how he had fallen asleep waiting for her.

That was such a long time ago.

He looked around and he realized how much he truly disliked her apartment. So many awful memories. They had argued, fought and hurt each other so much here. She’d hardly allowed him to visit when Agnes and Tom were still living here. And the worst of all: He had found her here on the floor in a horrific pool of her own blood after Garvey’s men had tortured her. 

He couldn’t quite understand what had kept her in this apartment after that, why she’d never moved away. He suspected she still stuck to the memories of the happy family she had here and wasn’t ready to let go. 

She had redecorated a little, however. Fresh paint, a new carpet and some furnishings. 

His musings were interrupted when she came around the sofa and kneeled right in front of him. 

Wordlessly she handed him the Scotch first and he had to smile at her knowledge of his priorities. 

He took a large sip, the burning sensation almost a relief.

“Thank you,” he murmured and put down the glass on the side table next to the couch. 

She then wrapped the ice pack around her fingers and carefully placed it upon his bruised cheek.

Her other hand came up at the same time, gently cupping his other cheek to hold him in place. 

“Hold still please,” she breathed, looking concentrated and serious. 

For a moment the cold sensation intensified the ache that throbbed deep into his flesh. He winced and closed his eyes, smiling wryly.

Liz immediately reduced the pressure to a mere dabbing. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered at his obvious suffering, but didn’t let go of his face.

The worry was back in her eyes.

“Are you ok, Red?”

He stared into her eyes. Yes, there was concern there. But was there something more? Or was he imagining it? 

They were so close now. Their faces only inches apart. Did she realize her eyes were wide and her breathing faster, that her heart was pounding? He counted five beats in the moment he recognized the twitch showing at her throat was her heartbeat. 

“I’m … I’m fine, really,” he told her, his voice huskier than it had been a moment before. “It feels good now, thank you.”

“I also have a bag of frozen peas.” She pointed back to the kitchen. “Maybe they’re more comfortable against the skin than the cubes. We could try.”

He watched her rambling on about the peas, watched her lips move as she spoke, watched her eyes blink, her expression changing from a frown to a hopeful smile and then back to a frown. He was stunned anew by how beautiful she looked tonight and how his feelings for her hadn’t changed. If anything, they'd strengthened.

He put his hand over hers, trying to warm her hand that was slowly turning cold over the ice pack. 

“This will do nicely, Lizzy.”

He knew his love for her was hopeless. It was the only thing in his life that he'd never been able to control and his spirits always battling when it came to her.

One part of him was thrilled to spend time with her, being so close to her and getting along so well, while the other part just waited and tried to shield him from yet another stinging rejection. 

Her demeanor had changed significantly in the past weeks; she’d even told him that she loved him, but he was sure that she meant a rather paternal kind of love rather than romantic love. 

He had been unable to deal with that confession since and had avoided her whenever he could to delay discovering the real meaning of her words. 

After everything she’d put him through continuously in the past years this one could easily break him all over again, which brought him back to the issue at hand.

“Samar coming to me was the only logical choice.”

He felt the need to defend himself but could not imagine how. Instead he told the truth.

“Did you know that I brought her in all these years ago? That I made her join the task force?”

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“I have all the means, the money and the connections to hide her and to get her treated accordingly. I can keep her safe for the rest of her life.”

“I don’t doubt that. You don’t have to justify what you did, Red. Not to me.”

He was surprised she thought that way. 

“I tried to talk her out of it. I really did.”

“I believe you and I’m sure Aram will see that too eventually. It’s just not easy to lose the one you love.”

“I know exactly how it feels. I’ve been in his position myself. The pain, it hurts, excruciating and unbearable, and for the longest time I didn’t know how to move on from that hurt… because she was everything.”

“I felt that way with Tom too.”

His nostrils flared and his jaw clenched at the mention of Tom’s name. Everything inside him suddenly felt as cold as the ice against his cheek. 

Of course, Tom was all she could think of. But it was the last thing he wanted to hear. 

She’d never understand, and nothing was going to change that. He knew that now.

“I’d better leave,“ he said curtly, pushing her hand and the ice bag away and stood, walking to the door. 

“Thank you for your help, but I think I can manage on my own.”

She closed her eyes, his departure was so abrupt it stung, but determined she rose from the floor, her voice steady. 

“But it was nothing compared to the pain I felt when I thought I’d lose you, Red.”

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to look at her. His heart had stopped and the moment itself seemed frozen before him.

“In the witness room, in those endless minutes I thought they’d take your life right in front of me… I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move.”

She stood helpless in the middle of the living room and started to cry, tears streaking down both her cheeks.

“It felt like a hundred-pound weight lay squarely on my chest, sucking all the air out of me. I thought the pain would cut me in half.”

She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands, but the more she tried to explain the faster they flowed.

“I was terrified and devastated at the prospect of losing you. The remorse I felt for everything I did to you and what was left unsaid was squeezing my heart to the point that I didn't think it could beat any more.”

She took a deep breath through her sobs.

“I always thought I loved Tom … God, I was wrong.”

She gave another shuddering breath and shifted her weight from one foot to the other to stop herself from trembling. 

Crossing the room quickly, he gathered her up in his arms before she could say another word, burying his face in her hair, his chest expanding in spades as she clung tightly to him. 

She turned in his arms, her face wet with tears, and she leaned into his touch as he wiped them away. 

“I’ve been waiting six years to hear that you love me, sweetheart.”

“It shouldn’t have taken that long, I’m sorry.”

She tipped her chin up as he cupped her jaw. “I love you.”

He pressed his lips to her, tasting the salt of her tears and the warmth of her skin. She kissed him back, softly, achingly slowly, being immensely careful of his bruise. 

“That goes both ways, Lizzy. I love you too,” he muffled against her when they separated. 

She slid her hands across his back and nuzzled against his chest. 

“Unlike Samar I have the chance to make it all better. I never want to wonder again how it could be: To love you. To be with you.”

She paused, looked up and expectedly their eyes met.

“If you let me, I’ll love you like crazy.”

He chuckled in delight, all troubles and tensions of the day fell away. 

“I’ll not only let you, I’ll encourage you. I’ll do anything possible to make it true.”

He kissed her again, drowning in the feel of the lips he’d love forever. She was finally his and there was nothing in this world that he wouldn't do to keep her happy and safe.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to heatherpeters for all her help with this one!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Waiting Game](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19800037) by [LuciferaBlack](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuciferaBlack/pseuds/LuciferaBlack)




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